Comber half-lap



ug 5, A1952 J. c. WILSON E'r AL l2,605,512

cowsER HALF-LAP Filed Deo. 27, 195o 2 sHEETs-smsfs'ri IN VEN TORS www mwJ. C. WILSON ETAL Aug. 5, 1952 COMBER' HALF-LAP 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 FiledDec. 27, 1950 Fig@ a. J MMM .mm www SR @n m mmm 4 .o MM] JR Y m B WPatented Aug. 5, 1952 UNITED-fsi PATE-Nr oFF-rca CMBER HALF-LAB#JmesfcLyvi-ison and'nichara Ferguson', char: lottarNlt C.; rassgnors toThe Terrell Machine A (imnpanyia'copration ofNoxth Carolina*ApilicatolDcember-Z, 1950,'"SerialN0:2025922??' (C1. ifi-116i" Thisinvention relatesfto comberzhalflaps;and more particularlyf. to :an:improved'f arrangement of needle barsfor; forming half-'la'pcombaysegments.

As is well knownlcomber halflapsicomprise 'a2 16 'Claims.,

body member 'formd'L-Wi-thfJhubsonwhichithe i half -lap may be=mounted-2 fo'r rotation during the combingr operation;landfurtheryforfrriedllvvith` an arcuatemountingesurface inrelationfto which aYseries of l needle bars=A that? carry projecting-- needles are securedtol-frm'la' comb Ese'gnfient for action during Aa por-tion;'offeach'revolut-iclin'l of ithe'f half -lalov onv tHe-'berfleeingLcombed.

The construction-of comber vhalf-Jlapsih'as here'- toforecharacteris'tical'ly"r involved' troublesome arcuate mountingQSur'face,oi"Y in' 'some casesto form the mounting surface'abut a 'center''that'vis eccentric to the centernrwhicl'ifth 'half-lap" rotates, so thatAneedles .becomingprogressively finer from the .leading y needle barmayfbe disposed on-the vneedleioars :with-y a decreasing pro-` jectionto compensate f or lossfof strength as their fineness increases,Whi1e-stil1 maintaining Aalll of the needle tipsinacommon arc about thecenter-V of rotation of the-halfdap asrequired:forlful1y-l effectivecombingaction.' Y

Such an arrangementfmakes'vit -necessarytto provide for very, preciselocation' offri-,he needle bars Vin securngithemin:relatonftothe:arcuate mounting surface :iofrithe Lhalf-.iapatibody- A'ifre- 1 quentlyemployed-;procedurelisf toiorm individual grooves vf or thenneedlelfbarslinl the arcuate -mounting 'surface andi thenitland secureLeach nee'dle bar separately lin thesetgrooves. In'J-otherlinstances,the Lnee'dle'fjb'ars ihave been #individually 1 secured directly to theface 'of the arcuate. mount-l ing surface, but any procedureforindividualfastening o-f theneedle bars;however'accomplished;fnecessarily involves lan extensive amountJ ofi ma# chining and muchtedious assembly Work- In order to avoid these" objectionable lfeaturesof the usual' methods for'mounting the f' needle bars individually;- ithas 'been proposed' to" form' the needle bars" witliw'dge shaped-base"portions' having side faces intendedto 1ie`in'radial planes withrespect to the arcuate 'mounting surface of the halff-lap, and tdprovide means'for clamping y 21?'. difculty `encounteredl-infconforrning a groupof needle bars ofthis-sort tofthe' arcuatevvform Aof, the mountingsurface-duetothe fact that any deviation atYall-of theffneedleibar sidefaces from-a radial plane; evenwsuch:Variations asV normally occur Within practical-manufacturingtolerances, can accumulate as the needle'bars are grouped to cause A'a'substantial divergence the Vgroup as'v `a Wholeffromt thearc'ua'temounting surface-*and thus' prevent the necessaryprecise location of theneedle "bars inrelationfto ithisvmounting fsurface.

According to ltheipresent invention there fis` formed in' thismannerarefassembledv as -a-group by inte'rtting`atthet'side` faces-"oftheir= baseportions to form a' comb segment, they -Will 'all Ways find aproper: intertted relation inf-conforman'ce .Withthei mounting surface"of "a halflap to 'which `tliey`are"secured"despite'any *slightlvariations thatmay occur shaping the" side faces, and V'rriayfthus" beassembled and mounted irl-plac W'tl gfe't`fafcil proper interfitdrelati'i Figcfz is :a: seetionaladetau:taken substantially.-

- Fig;4 .s fislzanrseniargeddetail takenamamiy these needle barsas aVgroup" on'.Y the mountn'g' surface. A Such priorlproposalsvhave-n'ot'prc'ived' satis'ia'ctor.y, howevergbecausd 'of tHe 'practicalbo'dimentVv of the "inventioniincorporating -aincd-iv fied' forniofneedlebar; y

ity; f ad 'C`i1',(Tr1,v the' dund by i the needle bars uponassembly'andriiounting as a composite" combsegmentl'will als,lre'sltindiSposing Teach' needle ba'r-fvvith a uniform -angularityin'relation" e cranes-needle Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of theneedle bars shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged right end elevation of the needle bar shown inFig. '7.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly at firstto Fig. 1, a comber half-lap constructed in accordance with the presentinventionA is indicated generally by the reference numeral I and, asshown, comprises a body member I2 fltted with a usual form of mountinghubs I4 and presenting an arcuate mounting surface as at I6 on which aseries of needle bars I8 may be grouped to constitute a comb segment.

In the half-lap construction of the present invention, the body memberI2 is assembled with the mounting hubs I4 (as illustrated best in Fig.

2) so that the center about which the arcuate needle bar mountingsurface I6 is formed, as indicated at 20, is disposed eccentrically withrespect to the center 22A of the'mounting hubs I4 about which thehalf-lap III rotates. This eccentric arrangement is obtainedlay-providing a shim member 24 to position the body member I2 off-centerin relation to the mounting hubs I4 when these elements are assembled bysuitable fastening means such as the screws 26. Accordingly, byproportioning the shim member 24 properly, -needle bars I8 of identicalsize may be employed informing the entire comb segment of the half-lap'I0 while still allowing the use of needles of increasing neness fromthe leading needle bar, as has been mentioned previously, and will bepointed out more indetail presently.

The manner in which the needle bars I8 are arranged to form the combsegment of the halflap I0, according to one representative embodiment ofthe invention, is illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and theform ofthe individual needle bars I8 employed in this embodiment is illustratedin further detail in Figs. 4 and 5'. Each of the needle bars I8comprises generally a needle carrying portion 28, and a base portion 30which is particularly adapted, as already noted above, for intertting inthe course of assembling a group of the needle bars I 8 as a compositecomb segment. Y

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the interfltting baseportions 30 of the needle bars I8 are of cylindrical form with a groove32 formed in one side face about a circular arc having the same radiusas the cylindrical form of the base portion 30.' As a result, thisgroove 32 at one side face of each base portion 30 is adapted forinterfitting over the entire cylindrical surface forming the other sideface of the base portion 30 of any other needle bar 'I8, and it shouldalso be noted that the cylindrical form of the base portions 30 furtheradapts them for line contact with the arcuate mounting surface I6. Byvirtue of this arrangement, when a group of the needle bars I8 areassembled with the side faces of their base portions 30 intertted, theyare disposed for relative shifting at these side faces so thatA they maybe conformed as a group with any arcuate surface that Will support them;and because the base portions 30 are adapted for line contact with thesupporting arcuate surface the relative shifting necessary to find aproper intertted relation in conformance with this arcuate surface maybe determined simply by bottoming the base portions 30 on the surface. o

Proper intertting. of the needle bars I8 in this manner may be obtainedreadily as apractical matter, too, because the intertting of the baseportions 30 at side faces which are formed about circular arcs inaccordance with the present invention is not perceptibly affected bydimensional variations within the range of usual manufacturingtolerances. Also, the interfitting of the needle bars I8 in this mannerso that their proper interiitted relation is determined by contact ofthe base portions 30 with the supporting arcuate surface has the furthereffect of disposing each of the needle bars I8 with vtheir upper needlecarrying portions 28 extending at a uniform angularity from the arcuatesurface and therefore regularly spaced. Accordingly, by providing meansfor clamping a group of the needle barsl I8 sidewise in interflttedrelation and for forcing their base portions 30 into contact with thearcuate mounting surface I6 of the half-lap ill), the needle' bars I8may be readily disposed as acomb segment conforming exactly with thearcuate mounting surface I6, and having the needle carrying portions 28extending with a uniform angularity so that they are regularly spaced atthe working face of the comb segment.

The needle bars I8 may be assembled suitably for mounting in the mannerjust described above by means of tie rods 34 adapted to be extendedthrough registering apertures 36 formed in each needle bar I6,theapertures36 being formed for a loose t on the tie rods 34 so as toprovide adequate clearance for permitting the needle bar base portions38 to shift as necessary in finding their proper interfitted relation.The tie rods 34 are preferably provided as aV solid bolt-like rod, asshown in Fig. 3, having a curvature corresponding generally to thearcuate form of the mounting surface I6, and having suncient flexibilityfor forcing the needle bar base portions 38 into contact with the.mounting surface I6. However, other types of tie rod means, Ysuch asstranded wrecable, for example, might be used, and means other than thevapertures 36 might be provided for engaging the needle bars I8 with thetie rod means, if desired.

In vusing 'tie rods 34 such as are illustrated in Fig. 3 to assemble theneedle bars I8 for mounting, each tie rod 34 is threaded at its ends toreceive nuts as at 38 and 40 that may be turned down o n clamping bars42 and arranged for exerting sidewise pressure on` the interposed groupof needle bars I8 and thereby clamp them in interfitted relation. Theclamping bars 42 and 44 also serve as means for securing the assembledneedle bars I8 on the arcuate mounting surface I6, the clamping bar 42being adapted for engagement directly by mounting screws as at 46,andthe clamping bar 44 being formed with elongated slots as indicated bydotted lines at 48 in Fig. 3 to receive fastening bolts as at 56 so thatit maybe positioned for sidewise clamping of the needle Vbars I8y asthey areV mounted on the arcuate surface I6. The tie rod nuts 40 and thefastening bolts 50 may thus be finally tightened in turn. to lclamp theVbase portions 30 of the needle bars I8 in intertted relation and rforceeach of them to a position resting on the arcuate mounting surface I6..f

The representation in Fig. 3 of the needle bar apertures 36in the nallyclamped position of the needle bars I8 has been purposely exaggerated toemphasize,thefreedomfallowed for the needle'bars to find a properinterfltted relation as they are clamped in pl'ace. Actually theseapertures 36 would'in the usual case be disposed in substantialalignment with leach aperture 36 arranged tangent to an arc zconcentricwith the arciof the tie rods 34jand'therebyforrn` a continuouspassageway Ato receive the tie rods 34.

;A The fact'thatthe'v arrangementof the' present invention' results in`av uniformfangular disposition'of the. needle bars I80n themountingsur-v faceV IS; as already;'mentionedabovey allows the' needlecarrying portions 20ct-the vneedle bars I8- to be shapedfor'presentingjasubstantially continuoussurface. at'the4 face ofthe comb "segmentformed'by the needl'ebars'l S.' These needle -car-` rying portions'23fareformed to provide a4 needle mountingV face 52 "on"vvhiolfrcombing` needlesl as at 54may be securedfandan opposite'face 56artempt has been made jin Fig-- 3 toe-illustrate -the strength astheirfineness increasesand-with all of the tips vof the rneedles' 54"-disposedf-in-a A'common arc about-the center- 4of `rotation-22`of lthetionf By providingforthis decreasing 'projectionl'bythe 'eccentricarrangement of the arcuate mounting surface 16; the needle-bars li'mayheemployedin identicalY sizes-to formthe comb segment4 forl the half-lapl 0 thusy simplifying the half-,lap-construction substantially so thatim portant advantages Vare provided both in assem` bly` andV repair vofhalf-laps constructed inaccordance with* the present invention.v` For eXample, the uniform size-ofneedlefbar vI8 lmak'es it possible to use astandard jig-for-fholding the needle bars as they-are needled, and --the-v only adjustment necessary during the needli'ng operationistherdispositionof the needles'54 at-a properI degree of projection in``accordance with' their rlneness, as -they are securedon the needlemounting face 52'.'- In addition, it Will usually be desirable torelieve'the opposite faces ES-of the needle carrying portions 28selectively in accordance with' the sizeof needle 54-carriedby theneedle-bar A| 8 to-Which they will be adjacent, so that these-oppositevfaces v-56-of-each needle A bar |8 4will not touch; but will extend ascloselycontiguous as -Ypractical to the needles lcar-riedby theadjoiningneedle bar|0".i This relief of the opposite-needle bar 56,however, maybeeasily provided'forf according tofthe -neness ofth'eneedles.

With' further reference to theI form Yof needle bar baseportion employedaccording to the-presv ent invention, it-should -be notedthat the baseportions 30 illustrated'inFigs.i3,4 and 5,' and described above, areVonly representative and that the-same advantagescan beobtained byshaping the needle bar-baseportions in other Ways as long as provisionis madefor allowing themto find a -proper intertted relation aboutcircular arcs. For. this purpose, it isonly necescontact area oftheneedle bar'base portion'with' the arcuate mounting surfacebelikewise-cylinrical to providel for linecontact'asnote'd above. Intheibase portions 30'1described above; both of the lmatingifaces are:cylindric'alybut--this do'es not have to beso as is illustrated bytheembodi".A ment shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings:

in which la y'half -lap "l 0Drisshownfincorporating fa: modifiedl formof needle Abar 'fl 02` as -alfu'rth'er em` bodiment of the-invention;`

In Fig. 6; the'- half-lap body member is show-n at |04 fittedeccentrically fabbuta center |06 .on

mounting hubs |08 havinga" center I|0- aboutl The eccentric which the'half -lap 00- rotates.'- mounting of the body member |04 isaccomplished by meansy ofa shimmem'berl l2 as fin the previon the'needle bars'l 02 through lclamping bars |20 and |22,whicharearranged"to bel secured to the bodymemberIM-'bymeans'offf'screws-as' at' |24 and fastening bolts I 26Yextendingthrough` elongated slots |28'in the'clampingbarlrZZE It may benoted in passing that "Whereas the comb segment of thepreviously"describedy half-lap |0 shown inFig. 3 contains 'seventeenn'eedlebarsA i8, the comb segment forA the half-lap |00 shown in Fig. 6is composed of only sixteen needle--bars |02, a spacer bar |32 havingthe samerform as the base portion'of theneedle barsl |02 --belngemployed adjacent' the 'clamping -b'ar I2 0 toprovide adequateYclearance for manipulationl of ther nuts ||8. The numberof'needle'barsconstituting the halflap"'comb'-segments might ofcourse be variedfurtheras desired; andthespacing bar |32" in Fig. 6' illustrates howAelements corre; spondingin'form' to the needle `*bar base portions alonemay be used in the comb-segments too for spacing the needle'barswhenever `necessary or desired.

The individualformcf `Vtl'i'eneedlelcars |02 employed in the embodiment"of the "invention illustrated in Fig. 6 is "shown in'further. detailinYK Figs. 7 and 8 ofthe drawing.l Here again'the needle bars|02jcomprise needle vcarrying-.p0rtions |30 andbase portions |32. Thebaseportions |32 "inthis case are also cylindrical inform, but insteadof havingfa cylindrical groove formed in one side face.th'ereof,1|'.heyvare provided with a dihedral or V-shapedfgroove |34 'having'faces whichlie tangent to a circular arc'of thesame radius as the cylindrical formof the' baseportion |32. Asv a result, the grooves |34"are adapted forintel-fitting with the vcylindrical form 'of'an adjacent needle bar baseportionA |32 inexactlyl the same manner as inrthe previous embodimentdescribedabove, and are adapted to nd a proper intertted relation inexactly'th'e same manner too. Also, it Will be noted that Atheneedlebars |02 in this embodiment are of Vsomewhat 'simpler form than' theneedle bars I8 "of the yprevious embodiment described: above, andaparticular advantage of 'this vsimplified form" of `theneedle bars |02is thatit'allows the use ofa plane face' extendingfrom the groove *|34*to form theneedle mounting face |36of`the needle carryingportion |30 andthereby provides `considerablymore 'con venicnty access in the'course'ofv'securing needles |30 on this mounting face |36.

It Would also h`e-=possible to formneedle'bars according to thev presentinvention with a grcove that Was :cylindrical informat "the 'innerface*ofV the base portions and 'withanioute'r 'face havingY apolygonalforminscribedwithin Va circular arc having the 'same radius as thecylindricalfgroove,

or the needle lbar basef'portionsmightbe formedbars having-baseportionlwith groovesddescrihedr about circular arcs in both Afacesi-Agairipit would be possible to employ the present invention to advantagein constructing a half-lap of the type in which the arcuate mountingsurface is concentric with the axis of rotation of the halflap, byemploying needle bars of increasing size to provide for decreasingprojection of the needles as they became finer, in which the matingfaces of the needle barbase portions might still be ofuniform size fromneedle bar to needle bar with the projecting length of the needlecarrying portion progressively increasing, or in which the pairs ofmating surface might increase in size as the size of the needle barsincreased. Any of these and other arrangements are possible and might beused to advantage in particular instances, although the embodimentsillustrated in the drawings and described above are believed to be mostpractical under usual circumstances.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes ofillustration only, and. is not intended to be limited by thisdescription or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, and a plurality of needle barsassembled as a composite comb segment and secured on said mountingsurface, said needle bars being formed with interfitting base portionshaving opposite, non-planar, side faces shaped with profiles describedabout circular arcs, whereby the base portions of said needle bars rlnda proper interitted relation when secured on said arcuate mountingsurface.

2. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, and a plurality of needle barsassembled as a composite comb segment and secured on said mountingsurface, said needle bars being formed with intertting base portionshaving concave and convex opposite side faces shaped with profilesdescribed about circular arcs of equal radii, whereby the base portionsofsaid needle bars find a proper interfltted relation for conformingsaid composite comb segment to the arcuate form of said mounting surfacewhen secured in place.

3. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, and a plurality of needle barsassembled as a composite comb segment and secured on said mountingsurface, said needle bars being formed with interftting base portionsshaped for line contact with said mounting surface and having concaveand convex opposite side faces shaped in profile about circular arcs ofequal radii, whereby said needle bars when secured in place nd aninteriitted relation at said base portions conforming said compositecomb segment to the arcuate form of said mounting surface and disposingeach needle bar at a uniform angularity in relation to said mountingsurface.

4. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, a plurality of needle bars, andmeans for assembling and securing said needle bars on said arcuatemounting surface as a composite comb segment, said needle bars beingformed with base portions having complementary concave and convexopposite side faces whereby the base portions of said needle bars find aproper intertted relation when secured on said mounting surface.

5. In a comber half-lap having an arcuate needle bar mounting surface, aplurality of needle bars forming a composite comb segment secured onsaid mounting surface, said needle bars being formed with interttingbase portions having complementary concave and convex opposite sidefaces, whereby said needle bars find a proper intertting relation forconforming said composite comb segment to the arcuate form of saidmounting surface when secured in place.

6. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, and a plurality of needle barsassembled as a composite comb segment and secured on said mountingAsurface, said needle bars being formed with base portions havingopposite side faces, one side face of each needle bar being cylindricalin form and the other side face being shaped for intertting with thecylindrical form of said first mentioned side face.

'7. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, and a plurality of needle barsassembled as a composite comb segment and secured on said mountingsurface, each of said needle bars having a base portion of cylindricalprofile in one side face of which a V-shaped groove is formed with thefaces of said groove lying tangent to a circular arc having the sameradius as said cylindrical prole, whereby the base portions of saidneedle bars are formed for line contact with said mounting surface andfor interiitting in conformance with the arcuate form of said mountingsurface.

8. In a comber half-lap having an arcuate needle bar mounting surface, aplurality of needle bars for forming a composite comb segment whensecured on said mounting surface, each of said needle bars having acylindrical base portion one side face of which is formed with a grooveshaped about a circular are having the same radius as the cylindricalform of said base portion. Y

9. A needle bar for a comber half-lap, said needle bar comprising a baseportion and a needle carrying portion extending from said base portion,the base portion of said needle bar being cylindrical in profile andhaving one side face thereof formed with a groove shaped about acircular arc having the same radius as the cylindrical profile of saidbase portion, whereby a group of said needle bars may be intertted attheir base portions for assembly as an arcuate comb segment in which theneedle carrying portion of each needle bar will find a regularly spacedextending disposition.

10. A needle bar as defined in claim 9 and further characterized in thatsaid groove is formed with a V-shape having the faces thereof lyingtangent to said circular arc.

1l. In a comber half-lap having an arcuate needle bar mounting surface,a plurality of needle bars for forming a composite comb segment, saidneedle bars being formed with interfltting base portions shaped for linecontact with said mounting surface and having concave and convexopposite side faces shaped in profile about circular arcs of equalradii, each of said base portions being further formed with registeringapertures extending transversely therethrough in relation to said sidefaces, and tie rods disposed through said apertures for assembling saidneedle bars toY form said composite comb segment and for securing saidcomb segment on said mounting surface. y

12. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, a plurality of needle bars forforming a composite comb segment, and tie rods arranged for assemblingsaid needle bars to form said comb segment and for securing said combsegment on said mounting surface, said needle bars having interttingbase portions formed with registering apertures extending transverselytherethrough for receiving said tie rods, and said base portions beingcylindrical in profile and having one side face thereof formed with agroove shaped about a circular arc having the same radius as thecylindrical profile of said base portion, whereby said base portionsfind an intertted relation conforming accurately to the arcuate form ofsaid mounting surface when said needle bars are assembled on said tierods and secured on said surface.

13. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, a plurality of needle bars, and tierods arranged for assembling said needle bars as a composite combsegment and for securing said comb segment on said mounting surface,said needle bars having base portions formed with registering aperturesextending transversely therethrough for receiving said tie rods, andsaid base portions being cylindrical in profile and having a V-shapedgroove formed in one side face thereof with the faces of said groovelying tangent to a circular arc having the same radius as saidcylindrical profile, whereby said base portions are formed for linecontact with said mounting surface and are adapted for finding aninterfittecl relation conforming accurately to the arcuate form of saidmounting surface When said needle bars are assembled on said tie rodsand secured on said surface.

14. A composite comb segment for a comber half-lap, said comb segmentcomprising a pluvabout a circular arc having the same radius as saidprofile, and associated means for assembling said needle barscompositely as a comb segment with the base portions thereof interitted.

15. A composite comb segment for a comber half-lap, said comb segmentcomprising a plurality of needle bars formed with intertting baseportions having opposite, non-planar, sideV faces shaped with prolesdescribed about circular arcs, and associated means for assembling saidneedle bars compositely as a comb segment with the base portions thereofintertted.

16. A comber half-lap comprising a half-lap body member formed with anarcuate needle bar mounting surface, a plurality of needle bars formedwith interiitting base portions having opposite, non-planar, side facesshaped with proles described about circular arcs, and means forassembling said needle bars with the base portions thereof intertted andfor securing the assembled needle bars on said arcuate mounting surfaceas a composite comb segment.

JAMES C. WILSON. RICHARD FERGUSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the y file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date- 1,610,407 Wood Dec. 14, 19261,620,031 Lanning Mar. 8, 1927 1,971,461 Nasmith Aug. 28, 1934 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date '7,040 Great Britain of 1895

